Mail-sack



(No Model.)

2'Sheets-Sheet 1. W. H. JONES.

MAIL SACK.

Patnted Aug. 2, 1887.

N. PEI'ERS. PtMu-Lilhognpher. Waihingwn. at;

2 Sheets Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

W. H. JONES.

MAIL SACK.

Patented Aug 'I/IIIIIIIIQ ,IIIIII/II.

I IEIIIIEFIEI/A N PETERS. PhohrLilhognpher, Wnhingkun. DIG

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. JONES, OF LIBERTY, INDIANA.

MAIL-SACK.

SPECIFICATION forming partof Letters Patent No. 367,408, dated August 2, 1887.

Application filed March 3, 1887.

To all whom it may concern:

' Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail Sacks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

My inventionrelates to an improvement in mail-sacks.

The object is to provide a mail-sack with a simple, strong, and burglar-proof lock,which shall extend throughout the entire length of the mouth, holding the same tightly closed, and requiring the use of but one ordinary padlock to hold the mouth rigidly closed.

A further object is to provide a mail-sack the mouth of which shall be jointed and flexible when open, and one which may be opened to the full size of the interior of the sack.

A further object is to provideasack having a month which shall be flexible when open or closed; and, further, one having a device for holding and securing a tag in place against accidental displacement.

A further object is to provide a mail-sack having a month which maybe securely locked, which shallpresent a neat appearance, and one which, when opened, will remain in this position, thus making it a convenient sack to handle and fill.

- With these ends in view my invention con sists in certain features of construction and hasp, staple, and front locking-plate, and locking-hooks of locki ng-plate. Fig Lisa detached view of the hasp and jointed oscillating locking-bar, and Fig. 5 is a detached view of the tag-holder and escutcheon-plate.

A represents a mail-sack of the ordinary form and dimensions having my improved locking mechanism applied to its mouth, and

also having an overlapping flap, B, preferably of leather or similar material to that of which the sack itself is composed, and secured along Serial No. 229,557. (No modelJ one of its edges by rivets or other convenient means in close proximity to the mouth of the sack, over which it is adapted to lap when the sack is locked, thus giving it a neat and finished appearance and at the same time enveloping the metallic part,so that it is more or less protected from the punishment to which mail-sacks are continually subjected, and also covering those parts of the locking mechanismwhich otherwise would be liable to mar, scratch, or cut othersacks lying in close contact therewith. v Rigidly secured to this flap. near the middle is a face-plate or escutcheon, (1, having an elongated slot, a, formed therein; and projecting laterally from said escutcheon a, and

preferably formed integral therewith, is an open-faced tag-holder, G, which consists, es-

sentially, of the back plate, 0, the skeleton face-plate 0. parallel therewith, and separated at a suitable distance therefrom by means of spacing-strips 0 secured between the edges.

The end 0 nearest the escutcheon is open, and through this opening the tag is slid in or out. A spring metal, 0, extends in the holder, and is adapted to hold the tag outward snugly against the skeleton plate 0, thus preventing the tag from accidentally sliding out of place.

The mouth of the sack is lined with a series of metallic plates, the series preferably 1 consisting of six, and so arranged and correspondingly formed are these plates that when the mouth of the sack is closed each of the three plates on one side meets a plate on the opposite side of the mouth.

Plates D E and D E are, for convenience, designated, respectively, the front and back end plates, while located between these plates are the front and back middle plates, F and G, respectively. These plates are simply thick enough to make them rigid,

and, to also .add to their rigidity, they are flanged on the upper edge. To make the plates as light as possible, they are preferably cut away on the lower edge; but this construction is not necessary, and it is plain that the plates might be straight on both edges, or va-' riously formed.

WVith the exception of the front middle plate, F, all of the plates are hinged together at their adjacent ends in the manner of an ordinary hinge-joint, and a slot or depression, d,

is formed in the hinge-joints c and f. Each plate is slotted, the slots being in pairs, a large, one, 9, and a small one, 71, located above the former in close proximity, but slightly separated by a portion of the plate extending be tween them, said slots being farther separated on the front plates than on the back ones. The slots 9 h in the front plates, D, D, and F, are in a position to exactly correspond with the slots in the back plates, E, I), and G, so that when the mouth of the sack is closed the slots lie directly over each other.

Secured loosely in suitable sockets, and extending lengthwise of the front plates, D, D, and F, between the outer faces of the plate and the material forming the sack, and in a line between the slots 1 and h, is the jointed oscillating locking-bar H. This bar is made in sections which correspond in number with the front plates, and each section of the oscillating bar isprovided with a hook, i, preferably formed integral therewith and located at intervals apart to correspond with the slots 9. Said hooks have an upward, outward, down ward, and then inward bend, in order that when the jointed bar is oscillated and the mouth of the sack is closed the hooks may extend in or out of the slots 9 h, as the case may be. The adjacent ends of this bar H are joined in a peculiar manner. These adjacent ends are bifurcated and rounded, and the cubical or spherical blocks k are pivotally secured therein, while in turn the bifurcated ends of the adjacent sections of the bar are similarly secured to the blocks 7:, thus forming a universal joint between the sections. These joints also act as a hinge between the plates, allowing the middle front plate to turn in several directions. The hasp K is formed integral with the main section of the oscillating bar H, and at the point ofjuneture between the two the hasp is thickened and angular in section, forming a cam against which the springlip I, cut in the plate G, impinges for the purpose of automatically holding the oscillating bar in any adjustment.

\Vithin reach of the hasp K, and adapted to enter the slot therein, astaple, m, projects outward from the lower extended portion of the front middle plate, F.

The manner of closing and lockingmy mailsaek is simple. The plates are pressed tightly together, the universal joints of the oscillating bar sinking into the slots (1 of the opposed hinge-joints, the slots 1 h in plates D D F being in close proximity to the corresponding slots 7h in plates E E G, and the flanged upper edges of the platesD D F resting over the upper edges of plates E- E G. The hasp K, meanwhile, has been in extreme elevated position; but now that the parts are thus rela tively placed the hasp is depressed to its full extent, rocking the oscillating locking-bar H and turning its hooks first forward through the slots 9, and thence upward and backward through slot h, the h asp sliding over the staple m. The flap a is then turned over, the escutcheon placed over the staple, the said staple acting as a retainer for the tag and preventing it from sliding out of the holder should the spring metal 0 be insufficient to hold the tag. Now a padlock is placed in the staple and the lock of the sack is complete. \Vhen closed and locked, the sack-mouth is still flexible, the effect of the closed plates of the mouth being that of a double hinge. A ring, a, on the hasp is grasped and pulled when it is desired to open the sack.

It is evident that slight changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself to the particular construction herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to sccu re by Letters Patent, is

1. 111 a mail-sack, the combination, with a series of hinged plates, of a jointed rocking locking-bar having hooks to engage catches on the plates, and means for rocking the bar, substantially as set forth.

2. In a mail-sack, the combination, with a series of hinged plates, ofa jointed oscillating locking-bar and a hasp for operating and so curing the bar, substantially as set forth.

3. In a mail-sack, the combination, with a series of hinged plates, of a jointed oscillating locking-bar carrying a set of hooks adapted to interlock the opposed plates when in contact therewith, substantially as set forth.

4. In a mail-sack, the combination, with the front plates the middle plate of which has a spring-lip, of the oscillating locking-bar and the hasp secured thereto, said hasp having an angular end with which the springlip cngages, substantially as set forth.

In a mail-sack, the combination, with the hinged flanged plates having slots, the jointed oscillating locking-bar, and hooks thereon, of the hasp having an angular end, a spring-lip, and the staple projecting from one of the plates, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination, with a mail-sack or other receptacle, of a rocking locking bar formed in sections, and having hoops adapted to engage suitable catches when the mouth of the bag or receptacle is closed, and a hasp secured to said. bar, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\VJLLIAM H. JONES.

Vitnesscs:

HoLLIs F. BEARD, JAMES M. CoUonLiN. 

